Hingis eases through to third round in Berlin

Hingis made short work of her opponent Keystone

Switzerland's world number one, Martina Hingis, cruised through her second round match at the $1.2 million German Open tennis tournament in Berlin, defeating Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-3.

Hingis, who had lost only two games in her two previous matches against Garbin, swept through the match in just 52 minutes.

“I’m as fit as I’ve ever been and definitely looking forward to the claycourt season,” said Hingis, who has cut her coaching ties with her mother and is accompanied in Berlin by her training partner, David Taylor.

The Swiss star varied her game well to open up a 3-0 lead in just nine minutes, before wrapping up the first set with Garbin hitting a forehand wide on set point.

Garbin fought back by breaking her opponent in the first game of the second set, but Hingis hit back immediately, winning the next game to love.

“I’ve been working really hard and I’m confident I can do well on clay,” she said.

Hingis said Taylor would be with her until the French Open and might then become her full-time coach.

“It’s a bit difficult because I have to organise a lot of things myself and the phone keeps ringing, but I’m not doing too badly,” she said of life on the tour without her mother.

In the next round she will face the winner of the match between France’s Nathalie Dechy and Spain’s Magui Serna.

swissinfo with agencies